Ayrshire Scotland Business News is provided by the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle, an association of some of the top companies in Ayrshire. We publicise our members, and celebrate and report the wealth and rich diversity of entrepreneurial and business excellence that abounds here in Ayrshire, south-west Scotland. For further information e-mail Murdoch@eliteayrshire.com

The Elite Ayrshire Business Circle

Thursday, 19 March 2009

Light at the end of the economic tunnel says markets expert

A LEADING markets analyst promises that there is light at the end of the economic tunnel for Scotland and the United Kingdom.

And fortunately that light is not attached to an express train coming towards us in the opposite direction.

That was the good news from leading markets analyst Nick Parsons (pictured above) when he addressed members of the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle at their latest meeting hosted by the Clydesdale Bank Financial Solutions Centre in Ayr.

However, the bad news from Nick was that things are going to get even worse before they start to improve.

We are in the midst of the worst recession since the 1980s (at least) with property prices and consumer spending worst hit.

Unemployment will rise by a further 700,000 and retail sales will continue to fall.

There will also be further falls in average house prices, although they will not be so dramatic in Scotland, as they were never so over-valued here as in other parts of the UK. They will continue to fall until they return to their historic ratio of 2.9 times annual earnings.

Nick Parsons reassured his audience that economic growth will resume at the beginning of next year, although it will not be the stellar growth fuelled by excessive government and household debt experienced in the years before the recession hit, but a steady and sustainable growth of around 2% per annum.

[Pictured left to right: Markets analyst Nick Parsons is welcomed to the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle meeting by South Ayrshire Council Provost Winifred Sloan and Elite Ayrshire Business Circle executive chairman Norman Geddes. CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO VIEW / DOWNLOAD FULL-SIZE VERSION.]

Nick Parsons joined nabCapital (like Clydesdale Bank, part of the National Australia Bank Group) in 2007 as Head of Markets Strategy, based in London.

He has 24 years experience in Foreign Exchange and Money Markets, having previously held posts as Global Head FX Research, Head of Macro Research and Group Economist.

He is a regular contributor to CNBC, BBC, Sky, and Bloomberg News, and is frequently quoted by major newspapers and news agencies.

There are currently 481 Ayrshire business stories permanently archived on this site. To locate those of most interest to you, please use the site search facility in the top left hand corner of this page. Type your search term in the white box, then click “SEARCH BLOG”.

The agreement includes the naming rights to the Festival and a package of individual races which will carry the sponsor’s name including the William Hill (Ayr) Gold Cup - Europe’s richest sprint handicap - and the William Hill (Ayr) Silver Cup.

The total prize money for the 2009 William Hill Ayr Gold Cup Festival will top £600,000 with the 27 runners in the six-furlong Gold Cup chasing a pot of £150,000.

William Hill chief executive Ralph Topping commented: “The Ayr Gold Cup is a terrifically competitive betting race, throughout the whole of the UK, but especially in Scotland.

“Punters love high quality, competitive handicaps and the William Hill (Ayr) Gold Cup offers them one of the most vibrant betting markets of the whole flat racing season. As someone who worked in Glasgow betting shops in the seventies, I clearly remember popular winners like Roman Warrior and the ‘buzz’ that betting shops have around the Ayr Gold Cup.

“It is one of the biggest betting days of the year, and with the terrific and loyal customer base William Hill has in Scotland, I want to maintain that buzz for years to come.”

Ayr Racecourse managing director Richard Johnstone welcomed William Hill as sponsors of the famous race. He said: “The Ayr Gold Cup Festival has a long and illustrious history and it is fitting that an iconic name in horse racing is now the new sponsor of the race. In negotiations it became clear that the standing the Ayr Gold Cup has within the sport was one of the great attractions to William Hill.

“This festival continues to grow and more than 35,000 attended over the three days in 2008. All at Ayr Racecourse are looking forward to a long and rewarding association with William Hill.”

* The Ayr Gold Cup is Europe’s richest sprint handicap.* It was first run in 1804 with the first winner Chancellor.* It became a Handicap in 1855.* It was first run on the present Ayr track in 1907.* David ‘Dandy’ Nicholls has trained five of the last nine winners of the race.

There are currently 480 Ayrshire business stories permanently archived on this site. To locate those of most interest to you, please use the site search facility in the top left hand corner of this page. Type your search term in the white box, then click “SEARCH BLOG”.

Tuesday, 17 March 2009

Located on New Street, the property (pictured above) is situated in a busy town centre location close to local amenities and includes a large three-bedroom flat.

Markus Kroner, surveyor at Shepherd’s, said: “The building occupies a prominent town centre location set within two linked properties with substantial rear projections.

“The licensed premises comprise a public bar/lounge, a function room, kitchen/stores and ladies and gents toilets plus generous owners accommodation. The bar has been closed for around a year and may suit other uses, subject to planning.”

Located in the centre of Dalry, which lies in the North Ayrshire council area on the A737 around eight miles north of Irvine, the area surrounding the property comprises a mixture of commercial and residential users, including shops, offices and other licensed premises.

Established 125 years ago in Scotland, J&E Shepherd delivers a valuation service throughout the UK, from a network of 32 offices throughout Scotland and over 75 locations in England, Wales and the Channel Islands. It offers a multi-disciplinary property service to include valuation, commercial agency, building surveying, rent reviews, development and investment consultancy, rating and property management. J&E Shepherd is now one of the largest independent firms of chartered surveyors in the UK.

There are currently 479 Ayrshire business stories permanently archived on this site. To locate those of most interest to you, please use the site search facility in the top left hand corner of this page. Type your search term in the white box, then click “SEARCH BLOG”.

THE EDITORThe Editor of Ayrshire Scotland Business News is Murdoch MacDonald, a graduate of Magdalene College, Cambridge University, where his journalistic contemporaries included John Simpson, now World Affairs Editor with the BBC, and Alan Rusbridger, Editor of the Guardian. Murdoch MacDonald has been in the public relations industry and a freelance journalist and broadcaster for more than 35 years.He has handled the PR accounts of many top Scottish companies, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Life, John Menzies, Kwik-Fit and Barratt Homes.

He has hosted his own family finance programmes - "£s, Pence and Sense" on Radio Forth and "Moneywise" on Scottish Television.He now runs Ayrshire’s top PR consultancy Fame Publicity Services.

Wherever you are in the world, no other public relations consultancy, PR firm or publicity company can offer you a better or more cost-effective worldwide news distribution service, combined with search engine optimisation techniques that will drive customers and qualified sales leads to your company's website.

Murdoch MacDonald is also managing director of the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle, an association of some of the top companies in Ayrshire.Telephone: 01292 281498E-mail: Murdoch@eliteayrshire.com

Murdoch and his wife Lilian (pictured above) have written a book called "Phoenix in a Bottle", describing how they overcame alcoholism and are now, contrary to conventional wisdom, able to drink alcohol responsibly again. "Phoenix in a Bottle" is published by Melrose Books price £16.99 and is now available worldwide.Reviewing the book, eminent American addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele PhD commented:

“Phoenix in a Bottle is a modern version of The Days of Wine and Roses, and tells the true story of how two people who entered a period of desperate drinking stayed with one another in a close loving relationship, and emerged from their alcoholism able to drink responsibly again.

“Both a wonderful love story and a challenge to conventional wisdom about how people can recover from drinking problems, Phoenix in a Bottle gives people hope, and helps them to confront their own demons - alcohol or otherwise.”

And now "Phoenix in a Bottle" has been selected as a set text by a top American university.

“Phoenix in a Bottle” by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald will now be required reading for all doctoral students in a psychology programme at Alliant International University in San Diego, California.

Alliant International University, headquartered in San Diego and San Francisco, California, was formed in 2001 by the merger of the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) and the United States International University. Alliant has 6 campuses throughout California and also runs programmes in Mexico City, Hong Kong and Tokyo. The California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant is one of the premier psychology schools in the US, and it counts roughly half the licensed clinical psychologists in California as its alumni.

Dr. Gary W. Lawson is Professor of Psychology at CSPP. He says: “I adopted Phoenix in a Bottle because the dilemma this couple struggled with and the questions they ask themselves are like so many others I have encountered in 35 years of clinical experience treating addictions.“However, nowhere in addiction literature have I seen these issues examined and explained as well as Lilian and Murdoch do in Phoenix in a Bottle.“I also recommend Phoenix in a Bottle to many of my patients as well.”

You can buy "Phoenix in a Bottle" by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald online now direct from Amazon UK (click on book cover image below).